Bus

New Flyer, King County Metro celebrate 10,000th Xcelsior bus

Representatives from New Flyer and King County Metro mark the milestone Xcelsior bus.

King County Metro

New Flyer of America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., celebrated the build and delivery of its 10,000 Xcelsior® heavy-duty transit bus.

New Flyer marked the 10,000th bus with delivery of a 60-foot, hybrid diesel-electric Xcelsior bus to King County Metro (KCM) in Seattle. The articulated bus is propelled by low-emission, hybrid technologies that reduce air pollution and help evolve KCM’s transit bus fleet with lower emission solutions to help achieve its goal of an all-electric bus fleet by 2040. The Xcelsior platform, which was launched in North America in 2010, offers a wide variety of low and zero-emission technologies, of which KCM operates clean diesel, diesel hybrid, and electric trolley buses.

New Flyer has continued to stretch the boundaries of innovation with advancements in onboard communication systems, developments in battery-electric propulsion, and autonomous partnerships displayed through the Vehicle Innovation Center located in Anniston, Ala. New Flyer is also the only North American manufacturer to offer all four types of electric drivetrains on heavy-duty transit vehicles: zero-emission battery-electric, fuel cell-electric, or trolley-electric platforms in addition to low-emission diesel-electric hybrids.

“New Flyer is proud to reach this manufacturing milestone as we continue to drive innovation in low and no-emission transportation,” said Wayne Joseph, president, New Flyer of America. “We are proud of our long-term partnership with Seattle King County Metro, having delivered over 1,500 buses since the late 1970s. Seattle has been a leader and visionary in leading sustainable transportation, and we look forward to advancing public transit in close collaboration with North American leaders like KCM, as it continues to build its zero-emission footprint in the community.”

(From left) Chris Stoddart, sr. VP, engineering and customer service, at New Flyer; Lisa Gehrkee, regional administrator at the FTA; and Terry White, deputy GM at King County Metro.

Seattle King County Metro is one of the nation’s most utilized transit authorities, with 190,000 fewer cars congesting Seattle streets each weekday, saving over 70 million gallons of gasoline and 600,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. King County Metro’s strategic use of low and zero-emission vehicles improves quality of life while providing a foundation for further efficiency.

“King County is proud to provide cleaner, quieter transportation for the greater Seattle area and New Flyer has been an essential partner in achieving these goals,” said King County Metro GM Rob Gannon. “We are happy to join New Flyer in celebrating this milestone.”